
Few things say comfort food, and satisfy the whole family, like chicken.
The trouble is, poultry prices fluctuate so much that you’ll quickly be uncomfortable with the effect chicken has on your budget.
With these six tips for the budget-conscious home cook, you and your family can get better value out of chicken meals.
How to Save Money on Chicken
1. Rethink Boneless
Sure, boneless chicken is easier to work with, but you pay a serious premium for that convenience. You’ll always save money with bone-in poultry, even if you lose a little time.
If cooking and cutting apart an entire bird is overwhelming, consider buying leg quarters and cutting them into thighs and drumsticks. You can also pick up bone-in chicken breast, since breasts are not only healthier, but also much simpler to de-bone before cooking.
Prepare your chicken using the butterfly technique (cut out the backbone and flatten it), and you’ll save cooking time because your chicken will stay flat in the oven. If you get a whole chicken, you can slice the entire bird down the middle and only roast one half at a time.
2. Hot Legs
Rod Stewart lyrics aside, chicken leg quarters consistently offer value even when they’re not on sale. Cook a bunch up at once and de-bone them, and you’ll be prepared for plenty of affordable chicken dinner ideas, like taco night, hot wing pizza, chicken pot pie, fried rice, and homemade soup.
I’ve seen bags of chicken leg quarters for as little as 29 cents per pound. Though you won’t always see a deal like that, use 59 cents per pound as a rule, and you’re still getting a great price....